Fun and participation.

That was the creed of Special Olympics Yukon for the Development Games held at the Canada Games Centre on Jan. 22.

Natasha Jaczek, program director for SOY, said the Games provided an opportunity for athletes to try out different sports.

"It doesn't matter about ability, it's more about participation and fun. … They loved it,” she said.

The weekend started with the opening ceremonies at the Fireside room of the Yukon Inn on Friday.

Competition began at the Canada Games Centre Saturday morning with golf and floor hockey.

Thirty-three athletes were divided into four teams. Two teams did the golf clinic for an hour while the two other teams did the floor hockey clinic, then switched, to give everybody an opportunity to participate in both sports.

"We took over the Canada Games Centre,” Jaczek said. "They were really helpful to us too, all the staff there.”

Yukon Golf Association pro Graham Frey ran the golf clinic and Glen Wyse from Special Olympics B.C. ran the floor hockey clinic.

In addition to giving athletes a chance to explore new sports, the Games are also designed to restore interest in existing sports programs that SOY offers and shine a light on their skills in front of a local audience.

Mission accomplished, Jaczek said.

Floor hockey is starting tomorrow; golf is starting in March.

"So that was just to give people a taste, and they can sign up for the programs,” Jaczek said.

"From this weekend, we got a couple more athletes interested in signing up for floor hockey. We had to cap golf, just because we have three instructors; but we hope it'll grow in the future.”

Saturday afternoon featured friendly competitions, one in speed skating and the other in swimming.

"It was just to get people that aren't in the swimming program in the water; they might like it, they might want to join,” Jaczek said.

The Development Games began in the summer of 2008 and continued through 2009 before going on a hiatus in 2010 because Special Olympics Yukon sent a team to the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in London, Ont.

"We've never done a winter one; this was the first,” Jaczek said.

The next logical step after the success of the summer development games was to hold the Games in winter, and with winter sports provide new opportunities for participation.